Sandblasted Billiard with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

Gustavo Cunha continues to make a name for himself in the pipemaking world when it comes to fashioning beautiful shapes as well as imbuing each piece with his own artistic voice. His sandblasts are also becoming quite prestigious, on par with the craggy, ring grain-adorned finishes associated with the likes of Michael Parks and J.T. Cooke. This straight Billiard is a definitive example: the Tanblasted stummel completely rife with rolling ripples of ring grain, concisely stacked from heel to rim. The Brazilian carver has taken great care with each and every ridge and valley to afford an in hand feel that's at once supple as well as textured while keeping the classic profile perfectly intact. Forgoing his often conventional pencil shank and beveled rim, this piece instead hews closely to the English standard, while still being recognizably "Martelo" in the slightly tapered, firmly-based bowl. Finally, the color palette is a thing of beauty, with a pale ring of mammoth tooth separating the natural-stained stummel from the uniquely brindled vulcanite stem that boasts silvery, electric lines atop a dark backdrop for an aesthetic that I, personally, have never seen in any other vulcanite rod. Exquisite work.